BLACK HEALTH MATTERS AND OMEGA PSI PHI

The fraternity, which has 750 chapters in the United States and 14 other countries, has also partnered with the American Diabetes Association because diabetes continues to plague the Black community. African American adults are 60 percent more likely than non-Hispanic White adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. ”I am a type 2 diabetic, and I understand that we need to get that information out,” Harris said. “We share information on how to avoid diabetes with healthy eating and exercise, how to treat it if you have it, and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Mental health is the cornerstone of the partnership, said the fraternity’s Grand Basileus David Marion, a psychologist who practices in Jackson, Mississippi. As a trained clinician, Marion has seen the impact of mental illness on the Black community. The fraternity has a solid background in programming that targets mental health.d.